2014 isn't over yet, but some are already dubbing it the "year of the retail breach". About 20 major retail chains in the US were hit with big breaches from the end of 2013 to present. Those are just the ones we know about! And now the biggest shopping season of the year is underway in the US. The scale of these breaches means it's more important than ever to be proactive about data security.
The incidents shown in the infographic below largely affected payment information, but passwords and usernames remained the most exposed record type in 2014 so far. That's why it's also critical to:
- Play it safe with your credit card when shopping,
- Eliminate weak and duplicate passwords by using a password manager,
- Run the LastPass Security Challenge (in the LastPass extension menu under "Tools") to see weak and duplicate passwords,
- Prioritize updating your accounts with new, generated passwords, since randomizing your passwords ensures that one hacked account doesn’t lead to another hacked account,
- Consider subscribing to credit monitoring alerts, and
- Whenever possible, choose not to store your credit cards in your online accounts, using LastPass Form Fill to securely enter your payment details when you're ready to check out.